Sept. 2, 2024 – On August 17, 2024, eight men entered the Society of Jesus at the newly opened Novitiate of St. Stanislaus Kostka in Denver. Over the next two years, they will learn about the Society of Jesus and deepen their relationship with Jesus. A mix of prayer, apostolic service, community life and studies of Jesuit primary documents and the Society of Jesus’ contemporary mission will help each novice discern how the Lord calls him to live his life generously.
For the first two weeks of their novitiate experience (called first probation), the new novices spent time learning about the Society of Jesus and getting to know one another as companions in the Lord. Novices put aside cell phones and social media to discern more clearly how to offer their gifts and talents for the service of the Church and the care for others.
New novices closed this time of first probation in a three-day silent retreat led by the second-year novices in order to prepare them to fully enter the work of the novitiate.
The eight first-year novices join six second-year novices at the novitiate, along with Novice Director Fr. Drew Kirschman, SJ, and Fr. Hanh Pham, SJ, assistant to the novice director.
The Novitiate of St. Stanislaus Kostka relocated in August to the Xavier Jesuit Center near the campus of Regis University in Denver after a year in Culver City, California.
Meet the eight incoming novices of the Jesuits USA Central and Southern Province:
Kevin Aviles studied at Universidad de Puerto Rico in San Juan and was the president of the meteorology club. After working in a variety of fields, he decided to return to his hometown of Aibonito, Puerto Rico, to minister at Casa Manresa House of Retreats. He also served as the coordinator of altar servers at his local parish. Kevin enjoys watching movies and listening to music. He likes YouTube videos, particularly on the weather and geography.
Isaac Beck graduated from Saint Louis University, where he majored in biomedical engineering and minored in math. At SLU, he was a member of the Campion Society of Catholic Studies and served in Labre Homeless Ministry and Overground Railroad tutoring. He was also a manager of the men’s basketball team. During college, he also helped in the Belleville (Illinois) Diocese with Luke 18 and Teens Encounter Christ retreats. After graduating, he was a missionary at the Apostolate for Family Consecration and a pro-life sidewalk counselor. Isaac enjoys tennis and reading. Isaac comes from Mascoutah, Illinois.
Born in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, Sergio Gomez studied electrical engineering at Universidad Autónoma de San Luis PotosÃ. During this time, he discovered an interest in cooking and moved to Houston to work in the food industry. Most recently, he was a chef for the restaurant group in Hobby Airport. Last summer, he attended Magis and World Youth Day in Portugal. Sergio likes listening to music in a variety of languages and cooking different types of food, as well as science fiction books and movies.
David Goodwin is a graduate of De Smet Jesuit High School in St. Louis. Following high school, he played junior hockey for three seasons before receiving a scholarship to play at Penn State University, where he majored in economics and Spanish. After graduation, he played professional hockey in Finland, Sweden, Poland, Spain and Northern Ireland, and he completed a master’s degree in international business from Ulster University. He has volunteered in Cuba and El Salvador. In his free time, David enjoys traveling, experiencing new cultures and playing golf.
Nicholas Kelley was born in Fort Riley, Kansas, but moved around while growing up because his father was in the military. Eventually, his family settled in Knoxville, Tennessee. He earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science at the University of Tennessee, then worked as a senior site reliability engineer and a senior cloud engineer. He volunteered with Catholic Charities Pregnancy Help Center, Haiti Outreach Program and two homeless ministries and sang in his parish choir. Nicholas enjoys exercise, running and karate.
Valentin Lobatos recalls meeting as a child the Jesuit novices who were on an apostolic experiment at the parish school he attended in Kansas City, Kansas. After graduating from high school, he helped with Get Out the Vote initiatives before working in the Kansas State legislature. He taught religious education at his hometown parish and was director of faith formation and community life coordinator. He was also a live-in intern at Cherith Brook Catholic Worker. Valentin enjoys walking, biking and going to coffee shops with friends.
José Peralta was born in Texas but raised in Saltillo, Mexico. He grew up playing baseball and as a teenager, considered playing professionally. He majored in mechanical engineering at the University of Texas at San Antonio, graduating with honors. During college, he worked as an engineering tutor. He recently served in the Volunteer Service Corps at Cristo Rey Jesuit College Preparatory School of Houston. José likes working out and watching baseball and movies.
Bryson Stevens studied at universities in Corpus Christi, Texas, and Houston before attending the University of North Texas, where he converted to the Catholic faith. During high school, he began working in Landry’s family of restaurants and most recently was a server and sommelier at Mastro’s Steakhouse. He was active in teaching RCIA and religious education at his parishes. Bryson plays the violin and is an avid bowler. He enjoys studying languages and reading books.
Please keep these men and the novitiate community in your prayers as they continue to discern their vocations.
Prayer for Spiritual Freedom
O Spirit of God, we ask you to help orient
all our actions by your inspirations,
carry them on by your gracious assistance,
that every prayer and work of ours
may always begin from you
and through you be happily ended.
Do you think you might be called to join these eight young men as a Jesuit? You can learn more about our vocation at BeAJesuit.org.Â
